11 Ways Rich People Think Differently

Mandi Woodruff

World’s richest woman Gina Rinehart is enduring a media firestorm over an article in which she takes the “jealous”middle class to task for “drinking, or smoking and socializing” rather than working to earn their own fortune.1. 世界女首富吉娜·莱因哈特正在承受着因为她的一篇文章所引发的媒体风暴，她在该文中指责“嫉妒别人的”中产阶级热衷于“喝酒、抽烟、社交”而不是通过工作赚取财富。Gina Rinehart： 吉娜·莱因哈特，澳大利亚矿业大亨，在2012年5月，澳大利亚《商业评论周刊》评选她为世界上最富有的女人；endure： 忍受； firestorm： 风暴；take to task： 责备，批评；socialize：交往，交际。

What if she has a point?

Steve Siebold, author ofHow Rich People Think, spent nearly three decades interviewing millionaires around the world to find out what separates them from everyone else.

It had little to do with money itself, he toldBusiness Insider. It was about their mentality2. mentality： 心态，智力。.

“[The middle class] tells people to be happy with what they have,”he said. “And on the whole, most people are steeped in3. be steeped in： 沉浸于。fear when it comes to money.”

＊ Average people think money is the root of all evil. Rich people believe poverty is the root of all evil.

“The average person has been brainwashed4. brainwash： 对人洗脑。to believe rich people are lucky or dishonest,” Siebold writes.

That’s why there’s a certain shame that comes along with “getting rich” in lower-income communities.

“The world class knows that while having money doesn’t guarantee happiness, it does make your life easier and more enjoyable.”

全球最富有的女人Gina Rinehart指责“心怀嫉妒的中产阶级热衷于吸烟、喝酒、社交，却不为了财富努力工作”，此言论在媒体上引发很大争议。她是否戳到了很多人的痛处呢？思路决定出路，思路带来财富。贫穷是一种思想障碍，而不是一种经济状况。富人最大的一项资产就是其与众不同的思考方式。下面就来看看富人们是怎么考虑问题的吧！

＊ Average people have a lottery5. lottery： 彩票，碰运气的事。mentality. Rich people have an action mentality.

“While the masses are waiting to pick the right numbers and praying for prosperity, the great ones are solving problems,6. 当大众都在等着选出一组能中彩的数字，祈祷能发财的时候，成功人士们正在解决难题。the masses： 群众，大众；prosperity： 成功。”Siebold writes.

“The hero [middle class people] are waiting for may be God,government, their boss or their spouse7. spouse： 配偶。. It’s the average person’s level of thinking. ”

＊ Average people think the road to riches is paved with8. be paved with： 以……铺就。formal education. Rich people believe in acquiring9. acquire： 学到，获得，名词形式是“acquisition”。speci fic knowledge.

“Many world-class performers have little formal education, and have amassed their wealth through the acquisition and subsequent sale of speci fic knowledge,10. 很多世界级的表演者都没有接受过什么正规教育，他们通过获取专业知识以及随后对专业知识的“销售”来累积财富。amass： 积聚，积累；subsequent： 后来的，随后的。” he writes.

“Meanwhile, the masses are convinced that master’s degrees and doctorates are the way to wealth, mostly because they are trapped in the linear line of thought that holds them back from higher levels of consciousness11. 同时，普通大众都相信（获得）硕士学位和博士学位是通向财富之路，主要是因为他们受限于自己的直线思维模式，这就阻碍了他们达到更高的意识水平。convince： 说服，使确信；be trapped in： 被困在；linear： 直线的；hold back： 阻止，阻碍；consciousness： 意识，觉悟。...The wealthy aren’t interested in the means, only the end.”

＊ Average people long for the good old days. Rich people dream of the future.

“Self-made millionaires get rich because they’re willing to bet on themselves and project their dreams,12. self-made： 自力更生的；bet on： 把赌注压在……；project： 设计，计划。goals and ideas into an unknown future,” Siebold writes.

“People who believe their best days are behind them rarely get rich, and often struggle with unhappiness and depression13. depression： 沮丧，抑郁。.”

＊ Average people see money through the eyes of emotion. Rich people think about money logically.

“An ordinarily smart, well-educated and otherwise successful person can be instantly transformed into a fear-based, scarcity driven thinker whose greatest financial aspiration is to retire comfortably,14. scarcity： 不足，缺乏；aspiration： 渴望。” he writes.

“The world class sees money for what it is and what it’s not,through the eyes of logic. The great ones know money is a critical15. critical： 关键性的，决定性的。tool that presents options and opportunities.”

＊ Average people earn money doing things they don’t love.Rich people follow their passion16. passion： 热爱的事物，喜好。.

“To the average person, it looks like the rich are working all the time,” Siebold says. “But one of the smartest strategies of the world class is doing what they love and finding a way to get paid for it.”

On the other hand, middle class take jobs they don’t enjoy“because they need the money and they’ve been trained in school and conditioned by society to live in a linear thinking world that equates earning money with physical or mental effort.17. 另一方面，中产阶级从事他们不喜欢的工作,“因为他们需要钱，并且他们在学校和社会中所学到的是直线思维模式，这种思维让他们将赚钱等同于体力或脑力劳动”。condition：v. 使适应；equate with：看作相同，把……等同。”

＊ Average people set low expectations so they’re never disappointed. Rich people are up for18. be up for： 准备好。the challenge.

“Psychologists and other mental health experts often advise people to set low expectations for their life to ensure they are not disappointed,” Siebold writes.

“No one would ever strike it rich and live their dreams without huge expectations.”

＊ Average people believe you have to DO something to get rich. Rich people believe you have to BE something to get rich.

“That’s why people like Donald Trump go from millionaire to nine billion dollars in debt and come back richer than ever,19. Donald Trump： 唐纳德·特朗普，曾经是美国最具知名度的房地产商之一，人称“地产之王”。他的经历具有传奇色彩，一生跌宕起伏；in debt： 负债，欠债。”he writes.

“While the masses are fixated on the doing and the immediate results of their actions, the great ones are learning and growing from every experience, whether it’s a success or a failure, knowing their true reward is becoming a human success machine that eventually produces outstanding results.20. be fixated on： 执著于；eventually： 最后，最终。”

＊ Average people believe the markets are driven by logic and strategy. Rich people know they’re driven by emotion and greed21. greed： 贪婪，贪心。.

Investing successfully in the stock market isn’t just about a fancy math formula.22. stock market： 股票市场，证券市场；fancy：空想出来的，异想天开的；formula： 公式。

“The rich know that the primary emotions that drive financial markets are fear and greed, and they factor this into all trades and trends they observe,”23. primary： 主要的，基本的；factor： 把……作为因素计入。Siebold writes.

＊ Average people would rather be entertained than educated. Rich people would rather be educated than entertained.

While the rich don’t put much stock in furthering wealth through formal education, they appreciate the power of learning long after college is over,Siebold says.

“Walk into a wealthy person’s home and one of the first things you’ll see is an extensive library of books they’ve used to educate themselves on how to become more successful,” he writes.

“The middle class reads novels, tabloids24. tabloid： 小报。and entertainment magazines.”＊ Average people love to be comfortable. Rich people find comfort in uncertainty.

For the most part, it takes guts25. gut： 胆量，勇气。to take the risks necessary to make it as a millionaire--a challenge most middle class thinkers aren’t comfortable living with.

“Physical, psychological, and emotional comfort is the primary goal of the middle class,26. 物质上、心理上和情感上的舒适是中产阶级（追求）的首要目标。” Siebold writes.

World class thinkers learn early on that becoming a millionaire isn’t easy and the need for comfort can be devastating27. devastating： 毁灭性的。. They learn to be comfortable while operating in a state of ongoing uncertainty.”